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Ted Harrison's portfolio and project hub. Check out his work and blog and leave a comment or two!Tue, 28 Oct 2014 17:48:43 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.8.5200 Word Stories: “Chiaroscuro”http://tedvid.com/home/200-word-stories-chiaroscuro/
http://tedvid.com/home/200-word-stories-chiaroscuro/#commentsTue, 28 Oct 2014 17:48:43 +0000http://tedvid.com/home/?p=1130This is part of a collection of short stories written by Ted Harrison that are 200 words or less. If you enjoy these stories, please share them on the interwebs and he will give you all of the points.

Where was Charlie Day? The possibilities were extensive. Cindy retreated to her vice, convincing herself that the situation called for an extra layer of tar in the lungs.
Daniel joined her in the alley, “You know you are a walking cliché?”

Cindy examined the chiaroscuro shading on the brick next to Daniel. The light was perfectly filtered through the smoke.

“Where is he Daniel? Where is Charlie?”

Daniel was noticeably confused and clearly at a loss for words. He glanced out over the open space to his left and finally managed an, “I’m sorry” directed at the void. He approached Cindy.

Cindy was angry. Daniel knew he needed to calm her back down if they were to have any chance at success. He placed his hand on her shoulder, improvising.

“Everything is going to be okay, Cindy. What do you thi-“

“Where is he? He is in the next scene!” Cindy broke under the pressure of the lights.

A chuckle was heard from the void to Daniel’s left.

]]>http://tedvid.com/home/200-word-stories-chiaroscuro/feed/0200 Word Stories: “Perspective”http://tedvid.com/home/200-word-stories-perspective/
http://tedvid.com/home/200-word-stories-perspective/#commentsSun, 26 Oct 2014 18:36:58 +0000http://tedvid.com/home/?p=1127This is part of a collection of short stories written by Ted Harrison that are 200 words or less. If you enjoy these stories, please share them on the interwebs and he will give you all of the points.

His sunglasses slipped off the replaced button on the flannel gifted by his ex. The reach down seemed to require leaping across a canyon as the train whirred into the station. He examined the newly formed cracks in the lenses before carefully sliding the pair into a faded saddlebag. With only a sigh, he stepped onto the train car, took a seat, and looked up as the train began moving away from the platform. The sign flashed in his face and the second sigh signaled a dreadful realization had been made: he had boarded an express train bound to take from him twenty minutes he did not have to give.

The train emerged from underground just as the sun rose far enough into the sky to meet it. The light shot in and Gavin instinctively reached for his sunglasses and tried to buff out the crevices. The glass in the left lens shattered from the pressure, drawing looks from the people surrounding him that he had failed to notice until that moment. An older woman across the car smiled and patted the seat next to her. It faced west.

Quite frankly, this was loooong overdue. Take a look at my work and let me know what you think on twitter, in the comments, or wherever else you may so be inclined. Thanks for watching and let me know if I can help you on your next video project!

I honestly can say that 90-95% of these shots were made by me, and if not made by me, by one of my excellent colleagues and as part of a project I directed and/or produced. I hope you enjoy – feel free to ask any questions as well.

(Yes – I do more than make Baylor/World Cup hype videos, believe it or not)

]]>http://tedvid.com/home/updated-reel/feed/01.2 Million Views Laterhttp://tedvid.com/home/1-2-million-views-later/
http://tedvid.com/home/1-2-million-views-later/#commentsThu, 03 Jul 2014 17:52:11 +0000http://tedvid.com/home/?p=1097A week after the USA vs. Germany World Cup match for which I cut together a video using a bunch of footage that I do not own, the thought that 1.2 million people watched “One Moment Does Not Define Us” is still a bit, well – crazy.

The art of constructing a video that people share all over the Internet is not really art at all. I could romanticize the process, but it is just that: a process. Now, I am not pretending to be an expert on this process, but this is not the first time I have either edited, directed, written, etc. a video that was popular on the Internet. It was however, the first time I can safely say that I had “gone viral” (The Today Show’s words, not mine).

This “process” I speak of is ever-changing because of how fickle the Internet is – and again, I am not feigning humility when I say that I am no expert (few truly are). You have to capitalize on the right moments, tell the right story and post it in the right places. I have done a little research and tracked back the success of this video to a post on Reddit, that a content aggregation site‘s editor picked up and because it was easy to share to facebook/twitter from that post, traffic was suddenly through the roof.

Last week was one of the craziest I have ever had and I can honestly say I am happy with my fifteen minutes of fame, but I would never want it to define me. While it is cool to have TotalProSports call me a “true patriot” and to be featured on a number of sites I regularly frequent (Mashable, Bleacher Report, FoxNews.com and others), and even sites I hoped to never be featured on, the title of the video remains true – “One Moment Does Not Define Us.”

So I will be direct with my point – after all of the “hype” from last week, I know now more than ever how important it is to not define others by one moment. I never want to be “that guy who made that one video once” because no one wants to be defined that way.

So watch the video one more time if you wish, I just did …

and won’t be doing so again.

]]>http://tedvid.com/home/1-2-million-views-later/feed/0The Problem with Your Brand’s Video Contenthttp://tedvid.com/home/the-problem-with-your-brands-video-content/
http://tedvid.com/home/the-problem-with-your-brands-video-content/#commentsTue, 27 May 2014 16:36:28 +0000http://tedvid.com/home/?p=1090The problem with your brand’s video content is that it does not have any problems.

Your perfectly sculpted video has made your message so enigmatic that not only does your audience have zero clue as to what you were trying to say, but when it is all said, done and published to YouTube – neither do you. Otherwise, you get something like this below (a parody of corporate videos from the show Better Off Ted).

Am I saying that your video should have mistakes? Bad edits? Sloppy cinematography? No. If I was saying that, then everyone might run off to carefully cultivate a properly mistake-filled video for their brand, the very antithesis of what I am trying to say.

You have to let it be.

We are at the point where advertising, public relations and social media are such an integrated part of our livelihoods in Western culture that the less human any ad, press release or tweet seems the more it is going to get ignored. What is one thing that immediately differentiates a machine from a human? Mistakes, errors, problems or just SOMETHING that makes the content appear as though it did not go through fifty revisions to determine the proper kerning in the lower third of that one executive who probably did not belong in the video to start. This is all easier said than done of course, but the truth is: when your video adds human elements to the overall message – you capture more than attention, you capture a shared and engaged experience between the audience and your brand.

]]>http://tedvid.com/home/the-problem-with-your-brands-video-content/feed/2Breathlesshttp://tedvid.com/home/breathless/
http://tedvid.com/home/breathless/#commentsFri, 28 Feb 2014 23:44:51 +0000http://tedvid.com/home/?p=1078Irene had found Clark three rows ahead and five seats over her first, and only, year at New York University. He may be the only man over which her beauty never once had control. Their friendship existed, and grew, solely over the study of French film for two semesters. This was enough time for the two to grow close but not close enough to become lifelong friends, much to Irene’s dismay. She had been surprised, of course, when Tom mentioned that Clark was his best friend growing up. In all honesty, Clark and Tom’s friendship was her prime inspiration for keeping their relationship a secret.

“Not going to tell me, huh?” asked Clark trying to keep an upbeat spirit for Irene while taking another sip of the mimosa, “well, I won’t pry too much more, but you said you had a dilemma … anything I can help with?”

Irene stared at him. She had very few places she could turn for help. Her family would certainly disown her – after all, her father would die on the hill that the City is simultaneously the birthplace of hedonism and the death of morality. This ordeal surely meant banishment from family gatherings. This would not have bothered Irene, except that it would mean not being able to see her sister. Seven years younger, and born with Down’s Syndrome, Irene’s sister Sarah was the only person in the world for whom she would risk her life.

“I’m alright. Enough about me, I’ve dwelt on it far too much as of late. What is new in your world Mr. Berrineau?” Irene chose to change the subject while she worked on what Clark could help her with in the back of her mind. Layering her thoughts was, after all, how she so easily persuaded scores of men and women into her selfish schemes.

Clark sensed this, but obliged, “I’m working in the creative department of a new technologies company on Tenth Avenue. It’s quite fun. Been out of school now for two years, hard to believe really. Seeing a girl from the upper-east side believe it or not. And … yeah! That is the short version at least.”

Irene’s layered thoughts required a little longer to sort out what kind of help Clark could give her, but as one of the stipulations of her conniving was to always come up with a way to not owe anything to anyone, the present situation presented a nearly impossible challenge.

“Your job is to be creative huh?” Irene asked with a smile, “Like Godard’s À bout de soufflé?”

Clark paused, “Wow. Irene, that feels so long ago! But no, I’m certainly no Godard,”

“Oh come off it, that movie was the worst,” Irene laughed aloud as inwardly Irene thought she had just found a way to wedge herself into Clark’s life.

“Are you serious?! It was fantastic!”

“If speaking cyclically and jumping around like the projector is broken is fantastic …”

“Now you come off it, those lines are genius.”

“Yes, because ‘I wanted to see you, to see if I’d want to see you’ is a perfectly sensible sentence.”

“More sensible than you.”

“Oh come on now, don’t be mean!”

“I’m not being mean, I’m simply pointing out how of all the people in the world to complain about cyclical talk, here sits Irene Bates.”

Irene went quiet as she tried to withhold a smile. She was pushing her natural attraction to Clark as far as she could, but his remembering so much about her made her feel as if something was there. This was Clark’s power over her. Her supposed wedge was slipping fast.

“Well it hasn’t always served me well,” Irene said gesturing to her stomach and laughing nervously.

Clark smiled, “Well, let’s not make the same mistake Patricia and Michel did.”

“Doesn’t she die? Yeah let’s avoid that.”

“No he died, and that’s not what I was referencing, but yes, let’s definitely avoid that. How can I help you?”

Clark had unknowingly turned the tables on her and she finally decided that it was time to give in and owe someone something.

“I’m worried about never being able to see my sister again. My father will lose the last ounce of approval for me he has and certainly won’t recognize my child as his grandchild. My mother will do anything he says, and my sister will be oblivious.”

“Oblivious?” Clark looked puzzled.

“Down Syndrome.”

“I see.”

“Clark, I need a husband. Even if it’s just one for the holidays.”

“Whoah. Before you get ahead of yourself, would your father not also be fairly upset if you failed to tell him about a marriage?”

“He’s more likely to be thrilled he didn’t have to waste any money on my marriage.”

“Ah. That’s normal,” Clark’s sarcasm left Irene unimpressed, “So a husband by the end of the month? You seeing them for Thanksgiving?”

“Do you know anyone who would do it?”

“Why not me?” Clark offered effortlessly.

This took Irene by surprise, while she had been contemplating this plan before Clark showed up for brunch – it was only in the last five minutes that she had decided Clark fit to play the role – she was shocked to find him not just willing, but offering. They weren’t, after all, lifelong pals.

“Really?” Irene said as if she didn’t believe him.

“Really.”

The two stared at each other as the waitress set down the tea, Clark told her they needed a few more minutes with the menu. Irene finally broke the silence between the two of them.

“Didn’t you say you were seeing someone? You don’t think she may have an issue with your sudden marriage to a pregnant woman?”

“Scarlett won’t even have to know, she’s going to California to see her family through the first of the year on the twentieth.”

“But, what do we do? How do we pull that off? What about next year, the year after?”

“We’ll worry about the details as we move along, but for now you’re Mrs. Berrineau, I gave you that baby, and a year from now perhaps I will die in a tragic car accident in Jersey.”

Irene laughed, “That’s brilliant.”

“I do have a question though,” Clark stated.

Irene’s imagination went wild, now fearing she was going to owe something.

“Go ahead.”

“Not that I condone it, but there are … other methods … which you could have turned to.”

“What are you saying?”

“You know what I’m saying.”

“No … I don’t.”

“Like I said, I don’t condone it, I’m just curious why you didn’t go to a …”

Irene’s face flushed and she could not keep from being mad, “Men don’t understand.”

“Irene, I’m not trying to press, you don’t have to answer. I just think it’s admirable and want to know … why?”

“I don’t feel like answering that.”

“That’s fair, that is totally fair, I just don’t want you thinking I’m halfway into this. I’m sorry. I want to help.”

“That’s not helping.”

“Alright, well what’s your favorite color?”

“Why would you ask such a childish question?”

Clark laughed genuinely and smiled, “If I’m going to be married to you, I should probably know your favorite color.”

“Orange,” Irene wasn’t going to yield to his charm.

A tense silence ensued until Clark broke it, “You want to know why I loved that movie? Why it will always leave me breathless? Because Michel did get one thing right. He said, ‘When we talked, I talked about me, you talked about you, when we should have talked about each other.’”

Irene stared into Clark’s character. More than possessing attractive features, Clark held an integrity that even if a bit flawed, knew no yield. Irene succumbed to Clark’s affect on her; she cried.

“I like orange,” she replied showing a hint of a smile and more vulnerability than ever before, “What does that say about me?”

“Everything,” Clark answered jokingly.

]]>http://tedvid.com/home/breathless/feed/0Powerhttp://tedvid.com/home/power/
http://tedvid.com/home/power/#commentsThu, 20 Feb 2014 04:11:12 +0000http://tedvid.com/home/?p=1072Below is the second chapter of a novel I am writing. After over 200 of you read yesterday’s release of the first chapter, I decided to share a bit more. Enjoy, comment, critique and share! To read the first chapter click here.

Irene grew more anxious by the day, and as weeks began to go she resolved to give up on Tom’s return. “He must have found out,” Irene began to imagine Tom having caught her examining her stomach in the bathroom mirror and understood all from that simple action. She spent the totality of one lonesome early November Sunday morning brunch sizing up whether or not Tom was the kind of man who would leave at that kind of news. By the time she had been served her second cup of coffee she had practically run through the entirety of their relationship in her head.

They had met at the Met. Irene commented on the Monet at the same time Tom commented on the snowflakes beginning to fall outside. “I never know whether to like or dislike it,” they had both said in unison. After a brief conversation involving forced laughter and a tinge of chemistry, Tom left with a telephone number, a horribly concealed smile, and no knowledge of the fact that Irene’s remark had been about the Monet and not the snow. Irene left with complete power over him.

Tom would call, Irene would fancy him for a few minutes and that would be it. When they would speak on the phone Tom would advance his queen, rook, bishop and anything else he could move forward. Irene fortified herself with pawns.

The phone conversations lasted for two months until ten days into 2002 when they ran into each other again, though this time it was no random occurrence. Irene had finally decided that Tom could be worth something to her. She knew that Tom was always seeking further approval and that having her at his side would instantly elevate his social standing at work, at least in his own mind. She had discerned that this was Tom’s chief desire in whatever he did, and had worked out how to play it to her advantage. Tom loved to feel as if he were in control, that he were the one playing “hard to get” but his robust bravado generally was an overcompensation of a deep-seeded insecurity and neediness. He had mentioned once or twice that he routinely found an excuse to stroll through the relatively new farmer’s market in Union Square on Saturday mornings. He would tell her that it was to “pay his respects to the hard working individuals who don’t have the fortune or skill-set to work on the island.” Irene read straight through the pretense: Tom was there because it made him feel superior and if she were to guess (and she would be accurate), it was also an opportunity for him to buy cheaper groceries. The irony, she thought, perfectly matched Tom’s being.

She made a plan to visit the market on that Saturday in January to begin what she fully intended to be a one-sided relationship with Tom. Irene made it her objective to bump into him and just as the morning became afternoon, the two were off for lunch nearby.

Tom thought Irene to be splendidly attractive. “She is astonishingly beautiful, and she has eyes into which one could fall, and care for nothing else at all,” only adding, “if I were to say anymore it would compromise what you are already imagining, and what you have now, is the closest thing to what she truly inspires in a man.” Unfortunately for Tom, he would always mistake her beauty for depth in their relationship and would never notice the emptiness with which she treated him.

Irene was playing back that first lunch in her head when the waitress asking if she wanted a mimosa interrupted her.

“It comes with the brunch special,” said the pudgy waitress in an accent that announced her polish heritage even louder than her nose.

“Yes, of course,” Irene quickly accepted the offer. The waitress moved away from the table and Irene glanced outside for a moment. She quickly realized that she had just ordered alcohol while carrying a child, stimulating an overwhelming emotional reaction; Irene began to sob. She had not cried since she was a little girl and it greatly discomforted her. Irene attempted to keep her tears and noise to herself and was forced to stop altogether as all of a sudden a man was standing in front of her.

“Irene?” Clark Berrineau stared at her intently, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she said while wiping her nose with a napkin. She made a quick glance at her stomach to reassure herself that she wasn’t showing.

Now, in accordance with his name, Clark Berrineau was classically handsome. It was not so much that the world came easy to him, rather, he came easy to the world. Clark sat down and looked away to conceal that knowingly inappropriate smile that surfaces in awkward situations. He knew Irene well enough. Though it had been years since they had seen each other, he knew it was unlike her to be crying. As Clark vanquished his smile, he realized it must be something of either grave significance or extreme pettiness for a woman like her to be sobbing.

“So, what have you been doing these days?” Clark asked trying to strike a conversation.

“Well, I’m pregnant if you must know,” Irene said with no hesitation and without intending to do so, “And I’m having trouble sorting it out.”

“You … pregnant?” Clark asked while flagging down the waitress and debating whether to feel bad for thinking it had possibly been something petty. She set the mimosa down in front of Irene, and Clark ordered a black tea.

“Well if that is true, you certainly won’t be needing this,” Clark coolly picked up Irene’s mimosa to take a sip, she feigned a laugh and nodded, “I’ll have your tea.”

She began to defend herself, “It is true, and … I’m not used to it yet, you know. It didn’t dawn on me until she had already taken my order.”

“So, not to cut any corners here, but who is the lucky man?” Clark asked.

Irene froze. She knew that Tom had been keeping their relationship a secret; after all, it was at her request. However, it didn’t keep her from being astonished at how tight the secret truly was. Clark was Tom’s childhood best friend, for him not to know it meant that Tom had actually kept his mouth shut.

Tom had only been bringing her around coworkers, bosses, and potential clients – that had always been a very strict part of their agreement. For how much time Tom spent talking about Clark though, Irene’s current predicament was surreal and it brought on the elephantine dilemma she had not been required to confront in the year and a half she had been secretly seeing Tom: her past friendship with Clark.

“Irene?” Clark asked to stir her from her introspective daze.

“Yeah, sorry, oh you know … just some guy I decided I wanted. Should have been a little more careful though, obviously.”

]]>http://tedvid.com/home/power/feed/0Spring of Iniquityhttp://tedvid.com/home/spring-of-iniquity/
http://tedvid.com/home/spring-of-iniquity/#commentsWed, 19 Feb 2014 06:05:21 +0000http://tedvid.com/home/?p=1067Below is the first chapter in a book I have been writing. It is generally not a good idea to share something like this in the middle of writing it, however there is a part of me that believes getting a bit of it out publicly will get the rest out privately. I do hope you enjoy.

Tom wheeled around amid the engineered chaos that is underground Manhattan. Tom’s suit had been well tailored but as his workouts had grown more intense of late, he could feel the seams in the sleeves stretching to accommodate his every movement and he liked the way it felt. It was this fleeting self-congratulatory sentiment that stirred Tom out of his self-described “lifelessness.” It is true that the most ephemeral of moments in a person’s life are the most likely to drastically alter the course of the rest of them – however, Tom would have you believe in his case that it was much more complex.

In that transition between the 7 train and the express Q under Times Square Tom decided he could no longer see Irene Bates. Tom had been on his way to see her. Irene lived in Brooklyn, Tom in Queens. In many ways, their relative location provided the perfect summation of their relationship. Yes, they lived on the same island, but the best way to get to the other was via Manhattan. He, and it was nearly always he, would be inhaled by this liaison from the east and exhaled to the south – just a random particle that sustained her. The subway system on which he relied was a vessel that merely dispersed nutrients to the correct place at the correct time; nothing, at all, was an accident.

Tom looked to his left, and then his right. He did not wheel back around. There was no turning back. His new direction led him to the uptown bound 1 train. Tom had no idea where it would eventually take him, or what impulse would drive him next, but the more he thought about living off his own volition, the more addicted he became to his own adrenaline. He stepped onto the train and as the doors slid shut he smiled, sat down and knew nothing of anyone around him.

Tom headed north that day wishing to never see Irene again. If he had headed south he would have heard the news she had been preparing to tell him for two weeks: Irene was pregnant.

]]>http://tedvid.com/home/spring-of-iniquity/feed/1My 2013 Academy Awards Pickshttp://tedvid.com/home/my-2013-academy-awards-picks/
http://tedvid.com/home/my-2013-academy-awards-picks/#commentsFri, 22 Feb 2013 20:08:34 +0000http://tedvid.com/home/?p=1003After officially having seen all of the best picture nominations (my own personal requirement before writing this post and before watching the awards show), here are my picks for each of the major categories (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor/Actress, Best Supporting Actor/Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Best Adapted, Best Editing and Best Cinematography). I will pick both who my favorite is, and who I think the Academy will hand the award to.

Best Cinematography

Anna Karenina - Admittedly haven’t seen it, but from the trailer this definitely has a shot in the running (I know it’s sad that the first nomination is one I haven’t seen but it’s the exception not the rule).Django Unchained - Quintessential Quentin. Tarantino’s films have a decided mark and if you love snap zooms … you love Quentin.Life of Pi - Ang Lee once again emphasizes your visual experience above all else.Lincoln - Solid. Stately. And Spielberg.Skyfall - Not normal seeing a James Bond film up for cinematography, but a well deserved nomination.

Best Editing

Argo - Despite knowing the outcome, something about this movie keeps you at the edge of your seat. I’d argue it’s the editing.Life of Pi - It was perfectly good… but not sure if it stands out amongst this list.Lincoln - I actually am surprised it got a nomination in this category and thought this was one truly lacking area of the film.Silver Linings Playbook - Moments of brilliance (the flashbacks to “the incident”). And then some serious duds.. (The scene outside of the Eagle’s Stadium was incredibly difficult to follow).Zero Dark Thirty - If we could remove a section in the middle, the editing was always spot on.

My favorite: Argo. Every cut left you wanting more of the previous image, even in deadpan moments. It kept me at the edge nearly every second once Affleck is on the ground in Iran.My pick: Zero Dark Thirty. Next to Lincoln I see this as the Academy’s darling. It was very well done, and is certainly my second favorite – but the general public as well as the Academy will likely see this into Dylan Tichenor’s hands.

Best Original Screenplay

Amour - Pleasant, sad, haunting. Just ask my fiancée.Django Unchained - So dark yet so clever. Not sure it’s Tarantino’s best film, but certainly up there.Flight - Wow. this was way more depressing than it looked in the trailer. Not the greatest overall pacing so probably won’t see its name called.Moonrise Kingdom - Wes Anderson deserves a nomination in this category every time he makes a film.Zero Dark Thirty – If it weren’t for a couple of dragging, plot reducing scenes in the middle …

My favorite: Moonrise Kingdom. It’s almost as if Anderson writes with the same balance every single image he produces possesses. Moonrise Kingdom was original, quirky, and yet familiar- in a good way. I don’t think it has a shot at winning this award, but I’m sure glad it got nominated.My pick: Zero Dark Thirty. The only thing standing in Zero Dark Thirty’s way is the fact that it portrays torture as the end all be all for interrogation tactics. Which, of course, won’t sit well with the Academy. However, I feel as if many would like to give SOMETHING to this film given the subject matter and I feel this is probably its best shot. But I’ve been wrong more often than not…

Best Adapted Screenplay

Argo - To steal from my earlier description of Silver Linings Playbook’s editing .. Moments of brilliance, and moments of why on earth does this dialogue matter?Beasts of the Southern Wild - I don’t know if anything is as beautifully layered as this film.Life of Pi - Is there an award for best adapted visuals?Lincoln - Doris Kearnes Goodwin, who I’ve had the great fortune to hear speak, assisted in every aspect of the making of this film and it shows even in the script.Silver Linings Playbook - This one still gets me, I might have many people who disagree but I still see this movie as just a better than average Romantic Comedy.

My favorite: Beasts of the Southern Wild. I have nothing but praise for the complexity of this film. The story and the language was incredible. If you can get your hands on the actual screenplay itself, read it. Of course, I’d suggest watching the film first.My pick:Lincoln. This is one of the few times where I will (probably) hear Lincoln’s name called on Sunday night and I won’t roll my eyes with boredom. If it deserves any of them it’s this one, though my favorite is still Beasts of the Southern Wild.

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Amy Adams - She was really great, and if her role was expanded then perhaps she would have a shot. But she is no Anthony Hopkins (winning Best Actor with only 15 minutes of screen time) and her character was only beginning to develop when The Master decided to just … end.Sally Field - When I walked out of Lincoln, one of the first things I thought was, wow, Sally Field was the most memorable character.Anne Hathaway - I have to admit, since she stole my ticket to a pre-screening of Neil Young Journeys, I have a little bit of a grudge. She did really well, but think Tom Hooper was a little over-zealous with the 3 minute close-up during “I Dreamed a Dream.” From that point on I knew the movie wasn’t going to be as spectacular as I had hoped.Helen Hunt - Didn’t see her play this role, but the Academy loves stuff like this, however bizarre the story might be.Jacki Weaver - I had already seen Zero Dark Thirty when the nominations came out and when they announced her name, my first thought was, “Oh yeah she was in that movie.” She didn’t do a bad job, it was just a little too plain for her name to be in the envelope.

My favorite: Sally Field. Though I was going to cringe if she got super emotional one more time in Lincoln, I think it would have been a good cringe because she made me feel upset with the way she portrayed it. The dialogue between her and Daniel Day-Lewis about sadness and grief. Wow. (Additionally: this scene is up there with some of my all time favorites now). I do however, feel as if this is the weakest field of any this year.My pick: Sally Field. For once, they aligned! Nice job Academy.

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Alan Arkin – For those upset by Affleck not getting anything: Alan Arkin did more with way less. Next discussion…Robert De Niro - When De Niro hit Bradley Cooper it made my life complete. Also, it’s kind of weird seeing De Niro just playing Dads now.Phillip Seymour Hoffman - Chilling performance in the middle of an overly ambitious attempt at commentary on religion, war and mental illness.Tommy Lee Jones - If every man in 1865 looked like Tommy Lee Jones did with a wig … how was that ever a thing? Jones was alright, but I’m not sure he ever delivered a line that didn’t have the same method of delivery as the previous one.Christoph Waltz - The line, “And in the odd chance there are any Astronomy aficionados amongst you the North Star is… that one. ” will forever be with me. Like the movie, there really aren’t words to describe what he did for that role. Without him, Django would have sunk. fast.

My favorite: Phillip Seymour Hoffman. He won’t win it, and it’s safe to say that The Master wasn’t one of Paul Thomas Anderson’s best films, but the acting in this movie was superb and Hoffman made you squirm in your seat as he so convincingly lied through his teeth to keep his cult alive that you get a sense of how those things ever get started.My pick: Christoph Waltz. And honestly, you won’t see a complaint from me if either Waltz or Hoffman win. This category easily took me longer than any other and it was these two that had me baffled. Such different roles but so well done.

Best Actor

Bradley Cooper - I just. I’m sorry but no. Bradley Cooper got the job done in Silver Linings Playbook but that was about it. De Niro and Jennifer Lawrence stole the show and kept it running. Bradley Cooper just looked pretty and got angry.Daniel Day-Lewis - If I could have Daniel Day-Lewis read me stories in Lincoln’s voice every night, I think I would sleep 100x better and feel 100x more intelligent.Hugh Jackman – Dear Hugh, I’m sorry you had to act next to Russel Crowe’s worst performance ever. Sincerely, Ted. p.s. the little boy stole the show.Joaquin Phoenix - I won’t even wait until you get to the “my favorite” section. Best acting job of the year.Denzel Washington - Denzel is Denzel, maybe one day that will win him an Oscar but it won’t be this year.

My favorite: Joaquin Phoenix. So as I’ve said, The Master was pretty much a disastrous film, but Phoenix is back ladies in gentlemen. Though he had to play one of the most twisted and complicated roles I’ve ever seen to get me to say that, it makes sense that he would play that role after the disaster that was the faux-documentary about him destroying his life. A textbook method actor, I want no part of knowing what state of mind he put himself in during the filming of the movie. What an insanely brilliant performance of a brilliantly insane character.My pick:Daniel Day-Lewis. The other method Actor probably will win this one in a landslide.

Best Actress

Jessica Chastain - An isolated spitfire who I feel like obsessed with her nuances instead of her character. But that’s just me.Jennifer Lawrence - If not for her performance, we wouldn’t be seeing this film in so many categories.Emmanuelle Riva - She was fantastic, don’t get me wrong, but I believe her co-star should have gotten a nomination for Best Actor before she got one for her role.Quvenzhané Wallis - At 9 years old, you wonder just how brilliant this girl must be.Naomi Watts - Unfortunately haven’t seen her performance, but it’s on my list for the very near future.

My favorite: Quvenzhané Wallis. COME on. Anyone who watches this and isn’t brought to the widest grin and the saddest tears needs to re-evaluate a few things. I may be over-hyping it but this performance was almost mystical.My pick: Emmanuelle Riva. Why? Oh I have a hunch that this will be the shocker. Chastain will be a close second (although we never know these things), but I think her performance had so much potential and when there are lofty expectations, and you just kind of do a good job it’s hard to not be a little let down. Emmanuelle Riva is my pick and I’m sticking to it.

Best Director

Amour (Michael Haneke) - Definitely got great acting out of his cast, but didn’t have to go far to do it.Beasts of the Southern Wild (Benh Zeitlin) - Whatever films Zeitlin makes from this point forward, I will see.Life of Pi (Ang Lee) - Ang Lee does Ang Lee realllllly well.Silver Linings Playbook (David O. Russell) – Great job David, now why were you nominated again?Lincoln (Steven Spielberg) - Steven! You are always there for the masses. Making really good movies that everyone likes. Nicely done.

My favorite: Benh Zeitlin. Are you kidding me? The way he constructed every scene through the eyes of “Hush Puppy” ? All while telling an incredibly difficult story? Bravo sir, bravo. Just go get a haircut.My pick: Steven Spielberg. For the tens of you still reading, you probably picked the same thing. And that’s why the pick is what it is.

Best Picture

Amour - This movie is still haunting me.Argo - This movie still has me on the edge of my seat.Beasts of the Southern Wild - This movie is still inspiring me.Django Unchained – This movie is still making me laugh uncomfortably and reflectively.Les Misérables - This movie is still making me wonder where exactly Geoffrey Rush was when they cast the film.Life of Pi - This movie is still making me wish my dreams were cooler.Lincoln - This movie still makes me want Abe Lincoln as an extra Uncle.Silver Linings Playbook - This movie still makes me question the Academy.Zero Dark Thirty - This movie still makes me want Osama Bin Laden gone.

My favorite: Beasts of the Southern Wild. I’ll describe it this way: The film reminds you of what it’s like to be a child, without losing the gravity of Life’s situations. You gain a sense of childlike optimism and dreaming, while remaining grounded in reality. It means that this is possible, to be both grounded in reality, yet have an eye like a child’s. I think there’s an age old principal here … Anyway, my overly bold statement about the movie is that I think it will be one of the few films that will be used in film classes as long as they teach the medium. Don’t judge me.My pick: Lincoln for all the reasons you’ve seen throughout. I just don’t think Hollywood has ability to overcome the baseline when it comes to Best Picture.

]]>http://tedvid.com/home/my-2013-academy-awards-picks/feed/1Movies I Will See This Fall/Winterhttp://tedvid.com/home/movies-i-will-see-this-fallwinter/
http://tedvid.com/home/movies-i-will-see-this-fallwinter/#commentsThu, 11 Oct 2012 14:26:50 +0000http://tedvid.com/home/?p=993So it doesn’t look pretty (put this together in like 2 minutes so don’t judge), but the highlighted ones are the movies I either A) want to see before the end of the year B) will end up seeing by the end of the year C) feel obligated to see.

So far, I have seen The Master. Looper is next on the list and I have a couple of weeks to get that one under my belt before the slew of movies that hit theaters starting in November.

From what I can tell, not including snacks, I will be spending over $200.00 personally at the box office this fall. Ouch.

I will try to have a review of all of them if for nobody else but myself.